Donna Baier of Dearborn Heights and Ted Costa of Taylor ordered furniture from Art Van several weeks ago, only to find they aren’t going to get it. But the couple said they’re confident they’ll be able to get their money back through their credit card company. Another option is to take a store credit.

When Art Van Furniture announced last week that it’s closing all its stores and beginning liquidation sales, shoppers sprung into action.

If the store on Eureka Road in Taylor is any indication, not all of those shoppers are bargain hunters. Many others are coming into the store to check on orders they placed weeks ago, in an attempt to find out the status.

When the store opened its doors at 2 p.m. Monday, shoppers were lined up waiting to get in, and many of them didn’t waste any time.

Ed Wood of Trenton said he purchased furniture several weeks ago, but was having it redone with different fabric.

“They said it would take six weeks or so, but if they’re going to close, where does that end up?” he asked. “We went in and canceled that order, and got our deposit back. We saw one on the floor and the one right next to it we liked better, so it worked out for us. (The salesman) knocked 30 percent off.”

Wood purchased a sofa, a love seat and an ottoman.

Greg and Karen Brown from Monroe didn’t come to Taylor specifically to go to the Art Van store. They had appointments in the Downriver area, so they decided to drop in the store to see if anything would catch their attention.

“We looked, but there was nothing we couldn’t live without,” Karen Brown said.

Sharon Linenfelser, who is originally from Riverview but now lives in West Bloomfield, came to the store with her mother who ordered furniture several weeks ago, but now found out she is unable to get it.

Linenfelser took some accessories she found at a bargain price out to her car while her mother was inside the store sitting on a chair she wants to buy.

Because sales are on a first-come, first-served basis, Linenfelser’s mother wanted to make sure no one else took the chair she liked, so she was staking her claim until she could make the actual purchase.

Canadian Keith Postma walked out of the store agitated, as he was trying to settle a grievance about damaged furniture and an extended warranty he said was not being honored. Postma said he intended to contact his credit card company to see if he could remedy the situation that way.

Donna Baier of Dearborn Heights and Ted Costa of Taylor ordered furniture from Art Van several weeks ago, only to find they aren’t going to get it. But the couple said they’re confident they’ll be able to get their money back through their credit card company. Another option is to take a store credit.

Jim Kasuba — MediaNews Group

Donna Baier of Dearborn Heights and Ted Costa of Taylor also plan to contact their credit card company, but for a different reason.

The couple purchased a love seat several weeks ago, using an American Express card, but found out that they won’t be getting it.

“I asked today ‘Isn’t it in the warehouse?” Baier said. “The saleswoman said it hasn’t been built yet. They had to know back then that they were going out of business. People are getting a credit to buy something in the store.”

Baier said her plan was to contact American Express in an effort to get her money back, since the love seat was never delivered. She does not plan to take a store credit.

Baier and Costa didn’t leave the store completely dissatisfied, as they were given a tip about another Downriver furniture store that has the love seat they’re looking for.

But Baier couldn’t help but to express her disappointment in what happened to the Art Van Furniture chain.

“The government should step in on these equity companies that do this,” she said.

Baier was referring to Boston-based Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private-equity firm that has owned Warren-based Art Van since 2017, when it purchased the retailer for $550 million.

Last month, the company announced it was looking at preparations for a sale and Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. The company filed for Chapter 11 on Sunday night in a Delaware bankruptcy court.

“Despite our best efforts to remain open, the company’s brands and operating performance have been hit hard by a challenging retail environment,” said Diane Charles, Art Van’s vice president of corporate communications.

An Art Van Furniture employee in Taylor assists two customers with a purchase they made Monday afternoon.

Jim Kasuba — MediaNews Group

The closings were announced by AVF Holdings, Inc., which operates under the brands Art Van Furniture, Art Van PureSleep and Scott Shuptrine Interiors in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio. AVF Holdings will be selling Levin & Wolf Furniture in Ohio and Pennsylvania to Robert Levin, pending court approval. Eight Wolf Furniture Stores in Maryland and Virginia also will be liquidated.

In total, about 190 stores are closing.

Art Van Furniture was founded by Art Van Elslander, who was well-known in southeast Michigan not only for his stores, but also philanthropic efforts up until his death in 2018.

"Mr. Van," as Van Elslander was known by the company employees, opened his first furniture store in metropolitan Detroit in 1959 — the same year Little Caesars started selling pizzas and Motown started making music — growing it to the No. 1 furniture and mattress retailer in the Midwest.

"We were overwhelmed by the traffic at all of our stores throughout the region, not just in metro Detroit," she said Sunday. "So we made the decision to close early on Saturday. Our workers need time to restock, regroup and refresh after the past couple of days."

Stores reopened on Monday. There's been no timeline given for when individual stores will close. A lot will depend on the store's size and available stock.

Taylor officials said they were both surprised and saddened by the Art Van Furniture closure.

“This is more than just a story about a furniture store closing,” said Mayor Rick Sollars. “So many lives have been adversely affected by the sudden closure of such a traditional part of the business landscape in Michigan. From the city’s viewpoint, no one wants large, vacant buildings in their community — we are no different from our neighboring cities when it comes to that. We will do our best to take an in-depth look at the Art Van property, find what options we have and move it to the forefront of our ‘to-do’ list.”

A Taylor Art Van Furniture employee gives Trenton resident Ed Wood a hand in loading a sofa into the back of his pickup truck on Monday.

Jim Kasuba — MediaNews Group

One bright spot in wake of the the Art Van Furniture closure is the fact that the city’s Eureka Way corridor project has been thriving with new business activity, including the soon-to-be open Bubba’s 33 restaurant, just west of the furniture store and Men’s Wearhouse store.

“The drawback is that the particular corner of Eureka and Racho has had its challenges, like the longtime vacant movie theater and now this closure,” Sollars said.

In addition to the furniture store, Taylor has an Art Van PureSleep store just down the road at 23471 Eureka Road.